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Walker Walks Off a Cliff

There’s always a lot not to like about unions.We think of Jimmy Hoffa. We think of On the Water Front. We think of the worker version of fat cats–only in bad suits. Everything wrong with unions is also what’s wrong with all institutions and all who exercise and abuse power.

We have the same problems with business owners, managers and, of course, politicians. So, for those who complain about the unions, okay, I’ll stipulate to the problems, but eliminating them just puts our system of checks and balances out of whack. Just as with our three co-equal branches of government, that depend on a certain dynamic tension, so we need investors, management and workers. If one group wins permanent control and domination over the others, we will have a disaster. I’m not opposed to Gov. Walker pushing back against unions. I am very much opposed to him winning a permanent victory that will eviscerate the power of workers–yes, even state workers–to bargain as a unit.

Fighting about benefits is fair game. Eliminating the rights of workers to organize and bargain together isn’t. That is a hard-won right that workers will defend. It’s fair to complain that workers did too well in past negotiations and that a coming generation will not be able to have all of these benefits. It’s not all right to break promises already made. Many workers–teachers, firefighters, police and other civil servants–gave up salary in exchange for deferred benefits. Withdrawing those benefits will be socially and fiscally costly–as well as being evidence of bad faith.

Gov. Walker has grabbed a tiger by the tail and politically he may not be able to let go. But his over-reach will cost him. The class warfare that Republicans are always accusing Democrats of waging, but are now waging themselves, will not work in the long run. Accusing public employee unions of getting a free ride on the backs of normal workers will not work, and Republicans may find themselves alone and marginalized.

The greatest hope Obama has for re-election is Republican ideology, easily confused with Republican idiocy.